1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for clearing open topped containers of debris prior to filling, and particularly to an apparatus for inverting cardboard cereal boxes to clear away debris.
Preliminary to the packaging of cereal in conventional cardboard containers having a metallic pour spout is the installation of the pour spout in an end wall of the container. The conventional equipment which accomplishes the attachment of the pour spout frequently produces fragments of excess metal which may fall within the confines of the container. As a consequence, it is necessary to clear the container of debris. This may be accomplished by inversion of the container while it is still open, thereby discharging such loose contents.
In the process of packaging, cereal boxes are sequentially conveyed along the conveyor belt between a spout-installing station and a filling station. In the past, it has frequently been the practice to manually empty debris from the boxes prior to packaging. In order to speed and to simplify the packaging procedure and to eliminate the tedium of package handling while assuring the purity and safety of the contents, it is desirable to provide an automatic cleaning apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One technique proposed for automated clearing of debris in open topped containers is inversion of the containers by means of a ferris wheel apparatus. One such container-inversion apparatus known to the art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,159,164, to McBrady. The McBrady apparatus comprises a drum having a plurality of serially arranged ferris wheel structures which receive and displace containers laterally out of the conveyor flow, carry the containers through inverting arcuate paths, flush the inverted containers with blasts of air, and discharge the container in an upright position downstream of the receiving point and along the same line of flow. The mechanism described in the McBrady patent has been found to be relatively large, slow, complex and cumbersome. Moreover, such devices may jam, which can be particularly detrimental to efficient high-speed and high volume assembly line operation.